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​About Us

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Start Stratford Arts & Culture Magazine is created by our small editorial team, as well as a talented group of local contributors – writers and photographers who are artists in their own right.

Ann Baggley – Executive Director and Co-publisher

Ann has been an actor for many years, working in theatre including the Shaw Festival, the Tarragon Theatre and the Stratford Festival, to name a few. Stratford is where she met her husband, opera singer Roger Honeywell. She has done a little bit of T.V. and film, her favourite roles being that of screaming mother in Gingersnaps, and a gun toting alien in Tracker. Writing, photography and assistant-directing now take up much of her time, as does being a rather calm mother to her two children. Ann feels honoured to be able to interview and photograph so many of our immensely talented artists. Ann Baggley Photography

Jo-Dee Burbach Tuling – Editor, Designer and Co-publisher

​Jo-Dee is a professional graphic designer with more than 20 years of experience. She's also been involved in many different creative pursuits, from being in a reggae band, university choir and orchestra, and dabbling in painting and drawing. She thoroughly enjoys going to theatres, galleries and concerts. Jo-Dee has a great respect for artists and what they are able to create, and felt that a magazine to highlight the talent that permeates Stratford would be a great thing to do with her own creative talents. She is a proud citizen of Stratford, where she lives with her three children. Enhance Graphics

Coral Andrews – Writer
​Coral Andrews is a Kitchener based writer whose by-line has appeared in many magazines including Saturday Night, Take One Magazine, The New Quarterly, Canplay, and Performing Arts and Entertainment in Canada. Currently, she contributes to Waterloo Region publications Grand Magazine, Proud Magazine, and Most Magazine, in addition to global internet magazine Suite101.com. as Feature Writer for Playwrights and Stage Actors. Once in a Lifetime interviews include Phyllis Diller, Lynn Redgrave, Cynthia Lennon, and Monty Pythons Graham Chapman. She also continues to host venerable weekly arts program Coral FM for community radio station Sound FM.

Ruth Barrett – Writer
​Ruth Barrett was born in Pointe Claire, Quebec, and now makes her home in the heart of Stratford. Between then and now, she studied English Literature at Trent University and the University of Leeds, and classical acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Ruth pursued an acting career in Toronto where her love of the stage saw her perform in everything from Shakespeare to sketch comedy, eventually settling into voice-over work. Transforming into a writer has provided a rewarding new way to explore character and spin tales. Ruth has published numerous short stories in various anthologies and periodicals, and she formed her own Spirited Words Book Co. in Summer 2011. The historical ghost thriller 'Base Spirits' is her first novel, and she is currently hard at work on 'In The Bag', book one of 'The Dead Drunks'-- a quirky mystery series set in Stratford. Ruth's 'day job' is writing described video TV and film scripts for the visually impaired. Marrying this with her theatre background, she also provides a live description service for selected performances at the Stratford Festival. ruth-barrett-spiritedwords.blogspot.ca

Maureen Argon – Writer
Degrees in languages and journalism led Maureen to a ten-year career as a radio journalist and producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. She's also written for a variety of print media, including Maclean's Magazine and The Globe and Mail. She's co-written a radio play, now being adapted for the screen. Maureen creates content and directs the community for Monforte Dairy Co., an artisanal cheese company where she's helped bring this company to the forefront of media and consumer attention, but still likes to freelance. Maureen lives in Stratford with her husband and two children.

Elizabeth Davidson – Photographer
Elizabeth Davidson, Stratford resident and owner of prizzem photoart, is so sharp-sighted, people close to her say she has a hawk-eye. A graduate of the three-year photography program at Fanshawe College, Elizabeth received the college's Photojournalism Award in 2003 for her keen eye. Her skill with composition and light is complemented by ten years of practical experience in photo restoration and post-production.
www.prizzemphotoart.com

Robyn Godfrey – Writer
Robyn Godfrey is a mild-mannered librarian by day, freelance theatre reviewer by night. On weekends she's a volunteer with the Friends of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, a writer for Start Stratford, a coach and duelist on a fencing piste, and spends as much time as possible in the wild avoiding the call of the television.
reviewsbyrobyn.blogspot.com

Mindy Gough – Photographer
Mindy Gough is a highly sought-after family photographer serving Stratford, London, Goderich, Kitchener and surrounding areas of Southwestern Ontario. Mindy specializes in natural light portraits, outdoor family photography, newborn and maternity photography and distinctive, beautiful portraits of your children and grandchildren. She is the photographer behind "Real Photography for Real Women."

www.photographsbymindygough.com

 

Trevor Greene – Writer
Trevor is a writer. He was born in Northern British Columbia in 1985. He lives in Stratford with his companion, Bill Whitehead.

Kim Horsman – Writer​
Originally from Vancouver Kim moved to London, England to train as an actor. After more than 25 years in the theatre Kim has appeared in over 60 productions including 7 seasons at the Stratford Festival. After starting her family in 1990 Kim co-created Foolscap, a salon style theatre group, with Goldie Semple and Seana McKenna. Kim is currently writing a new theatre piece Confessions in a Grocery Store and is completing an adaptation with music of J.M. Synge's Playboy of the Western World, set in the Wild West. Though Kim misses the ocean and mountains of Deep Cove she is happily settled in Stratford with her husband, two children and a beautiful grandson.

Kevin Kemp – Writer​​ and Photographer
Kevin Kemp is a Toronto native. After studying life drawing, painting and photography at the Ontario College of Art he worked in film, television and theatre. After moving to Stratford in 1989 with his wife and two sons he began work with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival where he continues after 20 seasons as a senior scenic artist. Kevin continues to study photography, painting, digital art and classical guitar.

www.kanadianpaintandphoto.com
 

 

Nathan McKay – Writer​​ ​
Nathan was born and raised in Stratford. After successful terms as Communications Minister and Social Convenor at Stratford Northwestern and two journalism stints at local newpapers; co-op student at Stratford Beacon Herald and a 16-week term as Winter Sports reporter at Inside Stratford/Perth, Nathan graduated from the Entertainment Administration program at Durham College. Nathan owns and operates Swancore Productions, a Stratford based promotion and concert business. He currently is the co-musical director for Savour Stratford, musical director for The Virtual Blackout, and co-promoter for The Stratford Blues and Ribfest. His passions are music, food, photography, networking, and community building. Nathan loves Stratford and loves documenting life in the city. He is a music junkie, collecting music and attending numerous concerts.

Janice Middleton – Writer
Janice Middleton has a Master's degree in Journalism and worked at several of Canada's largest dailies, including The Globe and Mail and the Ottawa Citizen.  She lives in
St. Marys with her diplomat husband after postings around the world.

Irene Miller – Photographer
Since taking an early retirement from the financial world, Irene Miller has developed an impressive body of work as a visual artist in her own right and as a sought-after photographer working with well-established clients in portraiture,  commercial, tourism and social media.
She has photographed weddings, boxing events, still life, high-style portraits and landscapes. Her work has ranged from portraits of performers, family groups and children to work place interiors, inns and restaurants for many diversified clients. www.imiller.com

 

Karen Mills – Writer
Karen Mills was a freelance journalist even before she earned her Journalism - Print degree in 1992 at Sheridan College. In the toss up between seeking a Fine Arts or Journalism degree, the latter won by a hair's breadth, but only because it seemed more practical at the time. "But to me, writing has a visual, even visceral, element to it. If a piece of writing conjures an image that makes you angry, or makes you smile or knit your brows, it's reaching you.  It's doing its job," said Karen.  "Even news writing should have some element of art in it," she added. Living in China for 5 1/2 years, she wrote briefly for an expat publication there, and her photos of the "Middle Kingdom" and other ports of call around the world are especially prized. Karen has painted, written reams of poetry and music, and is an avid quilter.

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Lesley Walker-Fitzpatrick – Writer

In the seminal spirituality of Nature I find my faith. In the current fragmented eden on earth I find pain, sorrow and fear. I seek the deep beauty of Earth’s life mystery, the promise of Eden. In the sacredness of plants I discover my roots, expose my heart and flow with the current of the universal Mind. Born in Scotland, childhood in Guyana on the edge of the jungle, I planted my feet at the foot of the green goddess. I performed as Maya, the Goddess of Magic with magician Doug Henning at the Royal Alex Theatre and toured in Europe, the Middle East and Canada as a magician in my own right.

 I studied photography at the University of Rochester with William Giles and have worked on both sides of the lens. Amongst artists and photographers Edmund Soame, Richard Stodart, Dave Heath and others, I sharpened my vision. My self-portrait work in conjunction with Dave Heath was shown at the Ryerson Gallery, Toronto; Artscourt, Ottawa and Light Impressions, Rochester. I am an artist member of Gallery 96. I am sister and was amanuensis to inspiring poet John C. Walker who was quadriplegic and mute. I worked as a psychiatric researcher at the Hospital for Sick Children and currently as an artist in the schools. Married to actor Richard Fitzpatrick and mother of Alex Fitzpatrick, Sculptor, I am also blood sister to African lion, Jake.

www.mayafair.ca

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